Fear, Fire and Love
by amyvictoriaa
Summary: Mary and Matthew aren't very close as they have burried their feelings for one another but when Downton goes up in flames and Mary's life is put in danger, it is a race against time to save her and the outcome could have consequences on Mary or Matthew's life.


_Disowner: I do not own the Downton Abbey characters, they belong to Julian Fellows. The storyline is mine though._

_Hope you enjoy reading this short story and please don't hesitate to comment. Your reviews encourage me to write more so please leave them after reading:)x_

* * *

One gloomy evening in October 1924, the Crawley family were gathered around the fireplace in the library. They were joined by the dowager countess and Isobel. Mary, Sybil and Edith shared one couch, Matthew was stood up talking to Robert and Tom about the estate, Cora was sitting in a chair by the couch as she talked with Sybil about her daughter, Elizabeth whilst The Dowager Countess and Isobel shared the other couch and were in deep conversation, arguing about this and that, as they do… The family dog, Isis was stretched out in front of the fire wagging her tail contently as she looked up at this warm and cozy scene.

Matthew kept glancing at Mary who looked a million miles away, what could she be thinking? All of a sudden there was a loud rumbling noise, and a strike of lightning lit up the night sky, this made Mary jump, but she then stood up and crossed the room to look out of the window. Although she was a very brave and strong person, storms had always freighted her, ever since she was a child.

Hearing the grandfather clock striking ten, Violet stood up and said her goodbyes, Robert did the same as he accompanied her to her car and went to bed himself.

"I feel quite tired all of a sudden, I think I might go up too." Sybil said, yawning.

"I'll join you." Tom decided. "I have to be up early tomorrow morning to help Matthew with the cottages."

"Goodnight everyone!" Sybil kissed her mama goodnight and they walked out of the library and up the stairs.

"Perhaps we should be leaving too, Mother." Matthew said when he realised everyone else was leaving.

"Yes, I'm afraid we must." she agreed.

"Oh, the chauffeur has just taken Mama home." Cora pointed out. "Would you like to wait for him to get back?"

"Oh no, we won't bother him, it may me thundering but it isn't raining yet and the lightning lights up the night sky. We'll walk. You don't mind walking do you Matthew?" Isobel asked her son in her usual enthusiastic voice.

"No Mother, I don't mind." he replied. Cora rung for Carson who came straight away to give Matthew and Isobel their coats and hats. "Goodnight Mary." he said before walking out into the darkness.

"Goodnight" she replied sounding quite distant. "I'm afraid I'm rather tired too Mama, I'll go up now, goodnight".

Later on, when everyone had retired for the night, the thunder was only getting louder and there was a strike of lightning every minute. Mary pulled the covers over her, wishing she wasn't on her own. Sybil and Tom had been woken by the cries of Elizabeth, so all three of them ended up in one bed and they snuggled together keeping each other warm whilst trying to comfort their daughter. Feeling rather worried now, Mary decided to leave her bedroom and sleep in one which was already made up, much closer to her parents' bedroom than hers was. Once she got into bed, she fell asleep, the covers pulled right up, covering all her body.

As Matthew and Isobel were on their way home, Matthew smelt something that smelt a lot like…

"Smoke!" Matthew cried out as he turned around to find that an old oak tree had been struck by lightning and had caught fire in the distance. It was the old oak tree at Downton which Mary would sit under and read her novels on sunny afternoons.

"Oh my dear!" Isobel shouted, having seen the smoke herself. "Is that..?"

"Yes! It's at Downton, Mother, we have to go back, they could be in danger!" Matthew cried. "Mary could be in danger..."

"Matthew, get to Downton as fast as you can my boy, I shall go to Crawley house and call for the fire briga-" before she could finish her sentence, Matthew had already set off back the way he came.

When he arrived, to his horror, the fire had already spread to the house. Without thinking, he ran to the grand entrance, shouting and bashing on the door. No one answered, they must all be fast asleep he thought. He ran round to the back of the house and arrived in front of the servant's door, the door was locked, but he noticed a window had been left open. He pushed the window as far as it would go and pulled himself up and through the window. He ran up the stairs, the smell of smoke was getting stronger. When he got to the top of the stairs, he pushed through the door and ran to the grand staircase, without hesitating he ran upstairs as fast as he could with one hand on his lower back, as he was starting to feel a little pain, but he ignored it. Once he got to the top of the stairs, he shouted as loud as he could. "FIRE! FIRE!" He kept on shouting as he ran to each bedroom and opened the doors as people started running out.

He ran to Edith's door as it was the closest one to him, his shouting had woken her up. When he got into her room, she was putting her dressing gown on. "Edith, get out of here, there's a fire!"

"What?!" she replied but she was already on her way out of her room and making her way down the hall.

Tom had heard Matthew shouting and jumped out of bed, shaking Sybil until she woke up. "Sybil love, wake up, wake up, I heard Matthew shouting, I think there's a fire" before he could say anymore, she had picked up Elizabeth and ran to the door, Tom not far behind her. They stepped out into the hallway which was beginning to fill with smoke.

"Matthew! What's going on?!" Tom shouted as he saw Matthew appear through the smoke which was getting thicker and thicker.

"Sybil, take Elizabeth, go to the grand staircase and get out of here, Edith has just gone down. Tom, help me wake the rest of the house" Matthew shouted, sounding like he was back in the army, ordering about the other soldiers.

"I love you." Sybil said as she kissed her husband before covering up Elizabeth's face and running down the hallway towards the stairs.

"I love you too, be careful!" He shouted back but they had already disappeared into the smoke.

"Tom!" Matthew exclaimed. "Go wake Robert, I'm going to find Mary." With that, he ran off in direction of Mary's room and Tom ran towards Robert and Cora's door. Without knocking, he ran in and shouted until they woke up.

"What on earth is going on here?" Robert shouted, surprised to see his son-in-law in his bedroom at that hour. But before he could say anything else, thick smoked starting to drift under the door, filling the room. Cora sat up and gasped.

"Robert?" she asked in a worried and sleepy voice.

"You had better hurry up, the hallway is full of smoke already!" Tom shouted. He opened the door and saw the fire in the hallway. He ran to the bed and pulled off a sheet that he put over Cora. "Hurry up!"

All three of them ran out of the room, coughing and covering up their mouths, Robert held on to Cora and accompanied her down the stairs, out the front door where they found Sybil and Edith in tears.

"Oh Mama, Papa!" Edith cried as she ran over to hug her mother. "What happened? I don't understand."

Cora walked over to her youngest daughter, still clinging on to Edith and hugged them both. "Are you both okay? How's Elizabeth?" She asked, worried about her granddaughter.

"She's fine, I think" Sybil replied. "Matthew got us out in time, but Tom and him are both still inside!"

"What?! Matthew's in there?! I thought he left!" Robert exclaimed getting increasingly worried.

"He must have come back, he woke me up and told me to come outside." Edith answered.

"Good God! I must go back in! And where is Mary? Don't tell me she's still in there?" Robert asked in a concerned voice.

"Oh dear!" Cora exclaimed. "She must be! She never came out. What if-" but before she could finish her sentence, Robert had turned around and gone back in. The three women stepped back as all they could do was stand and watch, and hope that everyone would make it out alive. All of a sudden they heard screaming coming from the attics, as they looked, two windows came crashing down as fire blew through them.

"Oh Mama, the servants!" Sybil cried. "We must do something."

"Carson will take care of them Sybil darling, don't you worry" Cora replied, trying to be as reassuring as possible, not knowing if they would survive.

Having been woken up by all the noise, Mr Carson stepped out of his bedroom to find smoke had taken over the corridors, he stood in shock for a minute before banging on all the servants bedroom doors and running to the other side of the attics where the women slept. He banged on the door until Mrs Hughes opened it with all the servants following her through the smoke.

"Quickly, this way!" Carson ordered. "Everyone head down the side staircase and out through the kitchen into the courtyard. Now!"

As they all ran down in front of him, Mr Caron watched in horror, how could this be happening? What had happened? Just a that minute he heard Mrs Hughes calling him and he looked up as the servants had all already gone down. "Come along Mr Carson" the older woman said, grabbing hold of his arm and dragging him along.

The servants, now all in the courtyard were black with smoke as they made their way round to the front of the house. The younger maids were crying, and some of the older ones tried to comfort them as much as they could.

"There, there Daisy." Mrs Patmore said as she raised a hand and gently patted the young kitchen maid's back, "We're safe now, it's alright…"

"But, we might be out Mrs Patmore, but what about all the people still in the house? What if they don't all come back out?"

Not knowing what to say, Mrs Patmore just hugged her and carried on walking.

As the servants arrived in front of the house, Sybil sighed in relief. "Are you all okay?" She asked innocently.

"Just a bit shook up, my lady." Carson replied but as he looked around, he noticed that four people were missing. "Where are the others?" He asked.

Edith began to sob, "Still inside! I feel so helpless!"

Just at that moment, Robert and Tom came running through the front doors, coughing and gasping for air. Sybil passed her daughter over to Edith and ran over to her husband and her father.

"What happened, are you both okay?" She said kissing her husband and examining him for wounds.

"We're fine, but where's Mary? I thought she'd be out here. Her room is empty!" Robert said.

"She hasn't come out yet, she must be still inside!" Edith shouted back.

"Oh…" Cora said, her voice now trembling, "I.. I think I'm.. going to-"

As Cora fell to the ground, Robert ran over to her and picked her up in his arms. "Cora my darling, wake up". As she opened her eyes, Robert smiled softly at her. "It'll be alright, Matthew won't give up on Mary, he won't stop until she's safe".

Matthew ran the full length of the house looking for Mary, he couldn't understand why she wasn't in her room. She had been, the covers on her bed had been pulled back. Oh where was she?! He didn't know what he'd do if he lost her. He opened every door he ran past, shouting her name as loud as he could.

"Mary! Mary! For god sake Mary, where are you?!" he cried.

Mary who was normally a heavy sleeper, heard noises and cried in horror when she woke up to a room full of smoke and fire. She was shocked, she didn't know what to do. Mary was always in control, she always had an answer, but this time, she didn't, and she couldn't move with fear. She just reached for a blanket and wrapped it round herself. She squeezed her eyes shut as she began to cry. Suddenly she heard footsteps, she could hear them getting closer and closer.

"Hello? Is somebody there? She asked.

She paused when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. Matthew? But what was he doing here?

"Mary! Mary! Can you hear me?!" He shouted.

"Matthew?! Matthew, help! I'm in here, oh god Matthew, help me!" She screamed.

His eyes opened wide when he heard her voice, her sweet and beautiful voice. She was alive. He had to save her. He ran over to her door and kicked it open, which hurt his back even more, but he paid no attention to it, because there, on the bed, sat the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Wrapped up in a golden sheet, her long brown curly hair hanging down, over her shoulders and her deep brown eyes sparkled as she cried.

"Matthew!" she shouted which brought him back to reality. He ran over to her, not bothering if he got burnt on his way to the side of her bed, he picked her up in his arms and looked her in the eyes, "I'm going to get you out of here, you're safe now, I'm here, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you-"

"But-"

"I'm going to get you out of here, do you hear me, my darling?! Trust me".

She nodded her head, and stared up at him as her carried her through the flames and out of the room. He had called her darling, she thought to herself… Matthew, the man she had once called a sea monster had now come back and rescued her, risking his own life in the process. Suddenly, she felt different, he wasn't a sea monster at all. He was her Perseus. How could she have not seen this before?

"I'm going to take you down the servants staircase" he said to her, coughing as he spoke, "cover your mouth with something Mary, I don't want you to breath in the smoke."

She could only nod. He ran as fast as he could down the corridor, but stared in horror when he saw that their way out had been blocked off by the flames. He pulled her closer to his chest and squeezed her tighter. He turned around and ran the way they had just come.

In the meantime, everyone was getting more and more worried outside, Robert had gone into shock as he watched one side of his house burn down.

"Where are they? My baby girl is in there, most probably fighting for her life.." Cora cried.

Edith, who had never really gotten on with her older sister whispered to herself "please god, let her be safe, please, let her be safe."

Just then, they heard the fire brigade siren and Carson ran over to the trucks. "Hurry, come with me, there are two people still inside!"

The firemen got out their hoses and started spraying the flames near the entrance. Two of them ran into the house and sprayed their way through the smoke.

Matthew heard the siren and looked down at Mary who had closed her eyes. "Mary?" He whispered. "Mary?!" sounding more alarmed this time as she didn't wake up. "Mary my darling, open your eyes!" he shouted, but just then, he heard her cough and her eyes opened slightly.

"Oh god, Mary, I thought... No never mind, the firemen are here now, we're going to be okay. I just need to get you to a window or something…"

Looking around he couldn't see a way out, or a window that he could get to. Mary pointed in the direction of a door and he ran over to it, opening it and slipping inside. He ran over to the window and opened it as wide as he could and put Mary close to it so that she could breathe in the fresh air.

"Cousin Robert!" Matthew yelled as he saw the family were gathered together outside. "Cousin Robert, up her! I've got Mary, we can't get out!" He shouted.

Hearing shouting, Anna, the young lady's maid turned around and looked up at the window where Matthew was standing, cradling Mary in his arms.

"Milord, up there at that window! It's Mr Crawley and I think he's got Lady Mary with 'im." She said sounding worried but she was glad in a way, at least they were still alive.

"Matthew! My boy! Are you alright?! Where's Mary?!" Robert shouted as he moved as quickly as he could to be underneath the window. As he did, Cora followed him.

"I've got Mary, she's alive. We're trapped in here, we can't seem to get down!" He shouted back.

"Oh my lord!" Cora cried.

"I'll get help!" Tom shouted as he ran over to the fire engine. "Up there, in the far window, you need to help them, please, be quick!" he said to the head fireman. He ran back towards Cora and Robert.

"They're on their way!" he shouted up.

Suddenly Matthew turned around after hearing a loud banging noise and found two firemen at the door.

"Come with us please Sir." One of the firemen said, pointing to the door.

"Mary, can you walk? My back, is rather sore, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about but-"

"Of course I can, will you be okay?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Please, come this way!" The fireman shouted.

"Of course, sorry" Matthew replied.

Mary and Matthew joined hands as they quickly followed the firemen down the hallway, and down the stairs. As they arrived at the main entrance, the whole family gathered around the doors to see the two survivors coming out.

"Oh my darling, darling girl!" Robert exclaimed, with tears of joy in his eyes.

"Mary!" Cora shouted as she ran towards her eldest daughter and hugged her as tightly as she could.

Mary looked around, coughing and crying. Had she really just gone through all of that? Had Matthew really come back for her? Had he really called her Darling? She looked up at him, and then down at their hands to see that they were still joint together. He looked at her and smiled and for a moment, nothing else mattered, it was just the two of them as it should be. Although Downton had nearly burnt down, she was happy it had happened in some way, it had made her realise how much she loved Matthew and how much he loved her.

* * *

_That's all! Thanks for reading, please leave a review after having read this, it only takes a minute and it makes my day:)  
Also, if you look on my profile page, there is a Poll you might be interested in, it takes less than a minute to vote so please don't hesitate !x_


End file.
